Moby-Dick: or, The Whale (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
by Herman Melville
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Book Summary Information
Author: Herman MelvilleIntroduction: Nathaniel Philbrick
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-01
ISBN: 0142000086
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Moby-Dick: or, The Whale (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Book Review: A 19th Century American Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
I guess I did not know what to expect, but I was surprised by the form and structure of the book. It is written in the form of 135 short chapters, some only half a page long, and it ends abruptly with a flourish of action without much warning.
As a reader I want to state one cautionary note about this version of the book. By the way this is a well made book with large font and the paper is similar in quality to a hard cover book. The thing which I did not like and I caution a reader about in advance, is that one should not read the introduction by Nathaniel Philbrick and do not look at the maps or table of contents until you have finished reading the book. Too much of the plot is given away in those parts, well meaning or otherwise; and, knowing the end and the outline of the story spoils the read in my opinion.
There are three elements which I found of interest. The first was the description of whaling and all the stories and trivia surrounding whaling. There is much romance and lore presented by Melville, over 500 pages and it is mostly an interesting and an impressive read.
Ismael is the narrator but he is colorless compared to the larger than life captain Ahab who is the living embodiment of everything wrong with having an obsession. His obsession is to find and kill the great white whale Moby Dick. Most of the story is the search across great oceans to find this notorious whale.
The last thing that stood out for myself was the prose. Melville has a colorful and interesting style, almost Shakespearean from time to time, and that makes the book the great masterpiece that it is. The last dozen chapters are very well written and convey a strong feeling of excitement and action. Here is an example from an earlier Chapter 37: "Sunset."
"The cabin; by the stern windows; Ahab sitting alone, and gazing out.
I leave a white and turbid wake; pale waters, paler cheeks, where'er I sail. The envious billows sidelong swell to whelm my track; let them; but first I pass.
Yonder, by ever-brimming goblet's rim, the warm waves blush like wine. The gold brow plumbs the blue. The diver sun- slow dived from noon- goes down; my soul mounts up! she wearies with her endless hill. Is, then, the crown too heavy that I wear? this Iron Crown of Lombardy. Yet is it bright with many a gem; I the wearer, see not its far flashings; but darkly feel that I wear that, that dazzlingly confounds. 'Tis iron- that I know- not gold. 'Tis split, too- that I feel; the jagged edge galls me so, my brain seems to beat against the solid metal; aye, steel skull, mine; the sort that needs no helmet in the most brain-battering fight!
Dry heat upon my brow? Oh! time was, when as the sunrise nobly spurred me, so the sunset soothed. No more. This lovely light, it lights not me; all loveliness is anguish to me, since I can ne'er enjoy. Gifted with the high perception, I lack the low, enjoying power; damned, most subtly and most malignantly! damned in the midst of Paradise! Good night-good night! (waving his hand, he moves from the window.)"
Moby Dick is semi-autobiographical and is based on trips made by Melville himself in younger days. Melville in his later years was unable to regain the passion and complexity of this book in his writings and was forced to give up being a full time writer. This is a great read, and most book lovers will want to read the masterpiece more than once.
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